Now that I am home and can type- My beloved horse, Solomon Evsson, is physically doing pretty well, overall. A bit achey, but not lame. Still running around, climbing hills, being a happy horse. In January, the owners of the ranch I am keeping him at are going to put said ranch on the market. They have decided to put down Charley Horse when the ranch sells, because he is going deaf and blind, and would not adjust to moving well. He relies on Solomon to get around. They are charging me $250 for board, fly mask application, medication dosing, worming, (though I buy the wormer) grooming, wound care (when it happens) and $12 a month for the cost of the bute. I have to provide supplements and farrier care above and beyond that. For those of you living in many other parts of the country, this may sound reasonable. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it is nothing short of miraculous. There are some other cheap places that I visited when I was last looking to move Solomon. The horses in those places were emaciated, living in deplorable conditions. They were suffering. Other cheap places are cheap because one has to buy all feed separately, and often go out to feed, mask, medicate, etc ones self. As it is, the cost of Solomons care , including transportation, since he is two hours away across a toll bridge, varies for me between about $300 and $350 a month, depending on whether or not he is seeing the farrier. I am on SSDI and can only afford to go see him once a month. I will look, but I seriously doubt that I will find another place that suits Solomons needs and is something that I have the money for. He needs to be masked every day, with his moon blindness, and medicated. He needs a lot of open space- in a stall, he weaves and drops weight disturbingly fast. In a stressful herd situation, he gets injured. The right mix of horses needs to be found for him, and he needs to be in a pasture. The ranch owners are considering putting their house on the market as early as January. It is a very nice place, but sometimes it takes a long while to sell in Pope Valley. It could sell right away, or it could sell in a couple of years. Solomon is very old, but in amazingly good condition for his age. This could change at any time. This past winter was a bit hard for him, despite being incredibly mild. This coming winter? I do not know. If it is clear he is suffering, I will be merciful and not prolong his suffering. As it is, though, it is tearing me apart because he is, overall, happy, healthy, and feeling good except for some aches here and there. He is about 33 years old, give or take, but I believe that he has some breed in his mix that is long-lived, like Arab. I hate the thought of him dying because I cannot afford to place him someplace that is safe and gives him the care that he needs. I would be willing to re-home him to a good, loving home willing to give end of life care, but I have a realistic concept of how unusual it would be for me to be able to find such a home for him. There are a LOT of unwanted horses out there. There are a LOT of kill buyers out there who will pretend to be a good, loving home, and then ship the horse off to slaughter. There are a lot of people who dont have a clue about taking care of a horse, who will make promises but then, unintentionally, neglect the horse, or they will feel overwhelmed and re-home the horse again, until he ends up in worse and worse places. I have heard this story from home owners time and time again. If there is someone here whom I know, who others know and can attest to the goodness of, who will never re-home him, I would be so very very grateful if you could give him a home with you next year. Otherwise, I may have to put him down. I do not say this to manipulate anyone, or emotionally blackmail anyone. I say this because I swore to Solomon that I would make sure he would have a happy, safe, healthy life until the end of his days, and I know it would be far more merciful of me to end his life while he is still happy and healthy than to let him end up on a double decker slaughter truck to Mexico, or wasting away slowly, suffering, starving, and in pain, as he was when I found him in 2008. Please understand that I never intended to own a horse. I am on SSDI, and I know that is not sufficient income for horse ownership. Solomon was intended to be a rescue and rehome. I was told, initially, that he was riding sound, and 13 years old. After time learning about him and horsemanship, it became clear that he was far, far older than that, and that he should never be ridden again, due to back and leg injuries that leave him fine as a pasture puff, but not riding sound. Additionally, I have had a number of people promise to co-sponsor him, but that has always fallen through. Often it is because life circumstances have gotten in the way, and these kind souls have no longer been able to help. These economic times are very, very difficult for most of us right now. I understand. He is solely my responsibility, and I must do what is best for him. I must ensure that the end of his life will be filled with comfort, love, and joy, not betrayal and suffering. It is a very hard choice that I have ahead of me. I can hope that the ranch owners property will not sell for years, as selfish as that hope may be. Perhaps it will happen that way, though the property IS lovely. As it is, I am looking at having to make a decision as early as the end of January, or however long escrow takes, if someone snaps the ranch up right away. Love and good thoughts are always appreciated, and again, if you know of someone you trust absolutely who would take this sweet old soul in, they will never regret it. Solomon has brought joy and love and comforting to the lives of many people who are suffering from chronic illness and PTSD. He is my therapy animal, and has saved my life more than once with his gentle, strong, loving presence. His mane has been soaked with many peoples tears, and he has given the hopeless moments of joy and peace. So please, if you know of a way to find him a home, while it would sorrow me to lose him, to know that he would still be happy and healthy and joyful in this world a little longer would be the greatest gift. He is far nobler than I could ever hope to be. Please help, if you can, and if you cannot, and wish to meet him while his light still shines in this world, come and do so before the end of the year. Thank you. https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-frc3/t1.0-9/542957_405417122822669_633568647_n.jpg
Posted on: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 07:07:39 +0000
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